• Detroit Bureau, Tuesday, September 4, 2012 8 AM

Toyota has Dearborn, Mich., breathing down its neck. Ford Motor Co. reports it sold 489,616 of its Focus sedans and hatchbacks worldwide during the first half of this year, 5.5%, more than Toyota Corolla, which typically leads the segment in worldwide sales. It could mark the first time in years that an American maker produced the world’s best-selling passenger car if that pace holds for the second half of 2012. The Corolla, one of the oldest models in the Toyota line-up, is also feeling the heat from Hyundai Elantra, which has the Korean automaker looking for more production capacity. The new Focus has seen a 31% surge in sales in the U.S. so far this year.  It is now being sold in over 100 countries, and is being produced on a number of Ford’s global assembly lines, including one in Rayong, Thailand.

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